Why Should I Cry For You

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"Why Should I Cry For You"
Why Should I Cry For You Single Art.jpg
Single by Sting
from the album The Soul Cages
Released1991
Length4:46
Label A&M
Songwriter
Producers
Sting singles chronology
"The Soul Cages"
(1991)		"Why Should I Cry For You"
(1991)		"It's Probably Me"
(1992)

"Why Should I Cry for You" is a song by English musician Sting. It was released as a single from his third studio album, The Soul Cages (1991) in North America, Japan, and certain European countries by A&M Records in 1991. The song has since been performed live by Sting on various concert tours and included on some of his compilations.

Contents

Release

In February 1991, "Why Should I Cry For You" was listed by Rolling Stone as one of the four singles planned for release from Sting's studio album, The Soul Cages. [1] In North America, "Why Should I Cry For You" was the second single released from the album after "All This Time". [2]

The US trade publication Cashbox included "Why Should I Cry For You" on its list of the 15 songs most likely to reach the top 100 of their pop singles chart on the 27 April 1991 edition of the publication. [3] For the week dated 4 May 1991, "Why Should I Cry For You" debuted at No. 87 on the Cashbox Top 100 Singles Chart. [4] The following week, it was listed under the "Hits To Watch" column of the Canadian trade publication RPM and entered the RPM 100 chart at No. 94. [5] It later reached its peak of No. 46 during its seventh week on the Canadian singles chart. [6]

In the United States, "Why Should I Cry For You" was serviced to adult contemporary, album oriented rock, and contemporary hit radio stations. The song was one of the most added songs to album oriented rock stations reporting to Radio & Records for the week dated 3 May 1991. [7] The song debuted on the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart at No. 37 and later peaked at No. 32 two weeks later. [8]

A single remix of "Why Should I Cry For You" was included on Sting's 1994 compilation album, Fields of Gold: The Best of Sting 1984–1994 . [9] Sting has also performed the song live, including his 1991 tour promoting The Soul Cages album. [10] The song received a live orchestral rendition on Sting's 2010 Live in Berlin album. [11]

Critical reception

Billboard called the song "an intelligent and pensive ballad" with "subtle African percussion and sweet backing harmonies". [2] Gary Zavoral of The Sacramento Union said that "Why Should I Cry For You" was one of the "tearjerkers" on The Soul Cages. [12] Writing for the Los Angeles Times , Robert Hilburn characterised the song as a "delicate yet eloquent look at the questions and confusion of a son who never had a good relationship with his father and suddenly finds himself, through his father's death, unable ever to correct the situation." [13] Steve Morse of The Boston Globe wrote that the song was a "multitracked, Peter Gabriel-influenced ballad that furthers the catharsis" on the album. [14]

Chart performance

Chart (1991)Peak
position
Canada Top Singles ( RPM ) [6] 46
France (SNEP) [15] 38
US Mainstream Rock ( Billboard ) [8] 32
US Cash Box Top 100 [4] 87

References

  1. ↑ DeCurtis, Anthony (7 February 1991). "Sting: New Album Brings Renewed Perspective" . Rolling Stone . Retrieved 17 October 2025.
  2. 1 2 "Single Reviews" (PDF). Billboard . 11 May 1991. p. 75. Retrieved 17 October 2025– via World Radio History.
  3. ↑ "Looking Ahead" (PDF). Cashbox . 27 April 1991. p. 5. Retrieved 17 October 2025– via World Radio History.
  4. 1 2 "Top 100 Singles" (PDF). Cashbox . 4 May 1991. p. 4. Retrieved 17 October 2025– via World Radio History.
  5. ↑ "Hits to Watch" (PDF). Cashbox . 11 May 1991. p. 4. Retrieved 17 October 2025– via World Radio History.
  6. 1 2 "Top RPM Singles: Issue 1552." RPM . Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 17 October 2025.
  7. ↑ "AOR Tracks" (PDF). Radio & Records . 3 May 1991. pp. 62, 78, 98. Retrieved 17 October 2025– via World Radio History.
  8. 1 2 "Sting Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved 17 October 2025.
  9. ↑ Borzillo, Carrie (8 October 1994). "Hits Set Mines Sting's Gold" (PDF). Billboard . pp. 1, 16. Retrieved 17 October 2025– via World Radio History.
  10. ↑ Sweeting, Adam (26 April 1991). "Sting: Hammersmith Odeon, London" . The Guardian . Retrieved 17 October 2025– via Rock's Backpages.
  11. ↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Live in Berlin". AllMusic . Retrieved 17 October 2025.
  12. ↑ Zavoral, Gary (27 January 1991). "Star hasn't lost his Sting...but package loses excess". The Sacramento Union . p. C3. Retrieved 17 October 2025– via Newspapers.com.
  13. ↑ Hilburn, Robert (6 February 1991). "Sting's Soulful Surprises". Los Angeles Times . p. F7. Retrieved 17 October 2025– via Newspapers.com.
  14. ↑ Morse, Steve (20 January 1991). "Sting's 'Soul Cages': personal and powerful". The Boston Globe . pp. A32. Retrieved 17 October 2025.
  15. ↑ "Sting – Why Should I Cry For You?" (in French). Le classement de singles. Retrieved 17 October 2025.
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